Your Toddler’s Learning Process
The toddler learning process is lengthy and can occur over a period of many months. Your toddler will begin to be able to follow simple directions and understand the names of objects. At this point, your toddler is busy trying to organize all the new things she's learning so they make sense. But toddler growth and development doesn't happen all at once. Walking occurs in the early toddler months, while learning that one has a self (her own body and name, “I,” “me,” and “mine”) usually occurs between 18 and 24 months. Remember, too, that there is a wide range in typical toddler cognitive development.
Think of cognition as a multipurpose word that includes:
- Paying close attention to a book or game
- Understanding the meaning of words and phrases such as “big girl”
- Remembering a family rule
- Figuring out the layout of her room
- Understanding how objects relate to each other (like a spoon to a bowl)
- Simple problem solving (use a toy rake to push or pull a ball that rolled under a couch)
- Distinguishing real from “make-believe”
How can nutrition help?
Your child's brain has been doing a whole lot of heavy lifting since way before she was born. Your toddler’s growth and development takes energy, which comes from the nutrition she receives. So having balanced nutrition as well as DHA (a type of Omega-3 fat) is very important. DHA is an important building block of your toddler’s developing brain.
